The defender, who returned to Buenos Aires during the January transfer window, was seen smoking and playing cards with a group of friends in a video uploaded to Instagram by his brother, Franco, on Saturday night. Although the clip was quickly deleted, it was shared across social media with many supporters slamming Rojo’s behaviour as he flaunted social distancing guidelines.
Argentina President Alberto Fernandez recently extended the country’s coronavirus lockdown until May 10, with the nationwide mandatory quarantine having been in place since the middle of March. Although some restrictions were relaxed – with people allowed to go out daily for recreational purposes within a 500-metre radius of their home – that has not been extended to visiting groups of people. But Rojo appeared to disregard those rules, with at least 11 people spotted in the video his brother uploaded to his Instagram stories.
A day earlier he had also courted controversy when he had a kickabout with friends in the park, with the image again uploaded to Instagram by his brother. To make matters worse, the Estudiantes loanee was wearing the shirt of rival club Boca Juniors, with legendary player Juan Roman Riquelme’s name on the back, and supporters have called on club president Juan Sebastian Veron to reprimand Rojo.
Despite his recent indiscretions, the 30-year-old has been keen to do his bit during the pandemic and distributed food and drink to more than 200 families in his hometown of La Plata last month. ‘It was a pleasure to do something small locally to me to help in this unfortunate struggle the world is going through,’ he said. ‘Of course, we took the necessary precautions using masks and gloves to protect ourselves and others. ‘My neighbourhood is a humble place but it’s a very friendly place and I am proud to call it home. The community spirit during this crisis has been really uplifting.’
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